


Wouldn't It Be Nice

by panchostokes (badwolfrun)



Series: Prompt Fics [57]
Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Genre: Angst, Episode Tag, Episode: s01e19 Gentle Gentle, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:40:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22623454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badwolfrun/pseuds/panchostokes
Summary: Nick checks in on Grissom after the events of Gentle, Gentle
Relationships: Gil Grissom & Nick Stokes
Series: Prompt Fics [57]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1540795
Kudos: 2





	Wouldn't It Be Nice

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ArthursKnight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArthursKnight/gifts).



The case was a rough one. 

They all were, really. 

In the short time since he had become a CSI, Nick had learned hard and fast that this job wasn’t the cake walk he could have had, if he followed the path his parents had laid out for him. Sure, he would have been exposed to the horrors through pictures and testimonies and other media presented to the court, but it was different seeing it all first hand. 

Handling that evidence, first hand. 

Watching your boss, first hand, lose his temper towards a co-worker who certainly did not deserve the echo of a snap that was spewed at him, but not necessarily… _at_ him. 

Seeing a man, first hand, who was normally collected, composed, almost like a robot in his apathetic nature to the horror in front of them, and yet this case seemed to strike a nerve Nick never knew existed in the man.

He was intimidated by it, more than anything, but also…intrigued, by this suddenly human side to Gil Grissom, which is why he found himself surreptitiously haunting the outside of his office, trying to get a glimpse through the blinds, trying to muster up the courage to ask the words that have been on his mind all day, though he’s had plenty a chance to ask them. 

A courage he must have found, because after five minutes of his stalking, he found his fingers wrapped around the doorknob.

_Where are your manners, knock first._

His knuckles rapped at the door, but Grissom didn’t seem to hear it. The older man was leaning back in his chair, head tilted back, coiled fists kneading at his eyes.

“Hey, Gris?” Nick cleared his throat, gently closed the door behind him.

Grissom jolted up, nearly fell out of his chair as he collected his glasses from his desk with a sharp breath, pushed them up the bridge of his nose.

“God, Nick, could you knock next time?” he sighed.

“Sorry,” Nick replied in a low voice. “I just wanted’ta…check on you.”

Grissom looked at Nick like he had five heads as the man approached the other side of the desk tentatively.

“Why?”

“Well, cause, looks like you spooked Sanders a little and this case just…seemed like one of _those_ cases—”

“Are you questioning my stability, Nick?”

“No! Not at all, I just…never seen you…like this before.”

Grissom didn’t respond, at least not right away. He seemed to study Nick over the rim of his glasses, and Nick flinched inwardly as Grissom made a slight movement, as if he were going to rise and push Nick out of the office like he pushed the cart of samples.

But Nick stood his ground with crossed arms and his head held high as Grissom’s body had instead fell back in a relaxed position in the chair, and he showed a rare display of vulnerability as he allowed his mouth to hang open before he spoke.

“I shouldn’t have lost my temper with Greg.”

Nick’s arms unfolded and he nodded.

“I know you didn’t mean it. Towards him,” Nick added. “Our cases always seem like the highest priority when for all we know, the cases were shoving aside others.”

“ _All_ cases are important, Nick.

“It…it was a _baby_ , Gris.”

He felt a strong irritation in his eyes, his temple as he realized that he wasn’t just here to check on Grissom. He was here for guidance for himself, because there was a darkness looming over the city of Las Vegas, one that seemed to prey on the innocent youth and just _wouldn’t_ stop.

“This was the worst case since…”

He unknowingly flexed his fingers of the hand he had used to punch a door frame, but Grissom noticed and knew what he was talking about, nodded in solidarity.

“And then we move onto the next.”

“Another case, another shift. It’ll all be back to normal before we know it, right?”

Grissom’s lips curved into a small smile.

“Normal would be nice,” he agreed, and shifted through papers on the desk, indicating to Nick that he was ready to move on.

And Nick should, too.


End file.
